Process of making torch tips



p 2, 1941. V E. H. SMITH 2,254,751

I PROCESS OF MAKING TORCH TIPS Original Filed March 13, 1939 ELMEE H.JM/TH A-r-roKNEw o Patented Sept. 2, 1941 ENT OFFICE PROCESS or MAKINGroncn 'rrrs Elmer H. Smith, Minneapolis, Minn., assignor toSmith'Welding Equipment Corporation, Minneapolis, Minn., a corporationof Minnesota Continuation of application Serial No. 261,484, March 13,1939. This application July 3, 1939,

Serial No. 282,750

Claims. (Cl- 29-.157)

This invention relates to a novel process of making torch tips.

Cutting and welding torches are now used quite extensively in theindustrial field for various purposes. The tips of such torches mayfrequently require interchanging, depending upon the specific type ofwork upon which they are used. For example, certain classes of work mayrequire a tip capableof delivering a large flow of gas, whereas, otherclasses of work may require a relatively smaller flow. Such variation inflow may require tips having different sizes of gas discharge orifices.The tips may'also become damaged from excessive heat, or from roughhandling, rendering them unfit for use. The tips are therefore made,independently of the .head, whereby they may readily be interchanged,when necessary.

Mosttorch tips of the character herein disclosed, are usually providedwith a, central orifice, known as the cutting orifice, which is utilizedto conduct oxygen to the metal to be cut.

A plurality of relatively smaller orifices are also provided, whichusually surround the central cutting orifice. The smaller orifices areutilized for conducting a suitable fuel gas to the Work, such as amixture of oxygen or acetylene, or any other fuel gas suitable for thepurpose. The fuel gas serves to provide a preheating flame forpreheating the work to be cut, prior to directing the cutting fiuid oroxygen to the work to cut" the metal.

Torch tips, as now commonly constructed, are more or less expensive,because it is difiicult to form the small apertures lengthwise throughthe tip body without drilling, which is laborious, and consumesconsiderable time. Numerous attempts have heretofore been made toconstruct a torch tip in an inexpensive, practical manner, but to thebest of my knowledge, none of these attempts have been whollysuccessful.

The novel process employed in the formation 1 or manufacture of thenovel torch tip herein disclosed, is extremely'simple and inexpensive,and has resulted in the production of a torch tip of members of aductile metal, one of which is longitudinally grooved, and swaging theouter member to contract it so that its bore will sealingly engage theperiphery of the inner member, and thereby seal the joints between saidmembers and the passages formed by the grooves in one of said members.

A further and more specific object of the invention is to provide aprocess of forming a, torch tip which utilizes a ribbed arbor upon whicha blank of ductile metal is placed and swaged until its bore is reducedand shaped to conform to the periphery of the arbor, then replacing thearbor with an unribbed hollow core of ductile metal,

whereby a plurality of apertures are provided in which wire elements ofa predetermined diameter are inserted, after which the outer member orblank is again swagedto further reduce its diameter and lengthen it, andwhereby the apertures in which said wires are inserted are reduced tothe. diameter of the wires, and at the same time, the outer blank memberand the inner core may, by the necessary swaging operations,

.become firmly united to one another, thereby forming, in effect, anintegral unit.

The present application is a continuation of my pendingapplication,Serial Number 261,484, filed March 13, 1939, and allowed May-25, 1939.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the followingdescription and. accompanying drawing and will be pointed out in theannexed claims.

In the accompanying drawing there has been disclosed a structuredesignedto carry out the various objects of the invention, but it is tobe understood that the invention is not confined to the exact featuresshown as various changes may be made within the scope of the claimswhich follow.

In the drawing:

tubular blank in its steel arbor;

low cost without sacrificing any of the desired qualities of such a tip.I

An object of the present invention therefore is to provide an improvedprocess for making torch tips of the character disclosed, which requiresno drilling, and which is accomplished by fewer operations, whereby theresultant tip may be manufactured at less cost.

A further object is to provide a process of form- Figure 3 is anenlargedcross-sectional view on the line 3--3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2, but showing the outer blankreduced in diameter by the first swaging operation, whereby it isreduced in-diameter and elongated;

Figure 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view on the line 5-5 of Figure4, showing the parts after the first swaging operation;

Figure 6 shows the inner tube section in its ing torch tips, whichconsists in inter-fitting two normal shape;

' may also be desirable Figure 7 shows the inner tube section convertedinto a tapered core by swaging;

' Figure 10 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the tapered core ofFigure 7 inserted into the tapered bore of the outer tube section;

Figure 11 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the torch tipfollowing the final swaging operation;

Figure 12 is a similar view showing the body of the tip completed; and

Figure 13 is an end view of Figure 12.

In carrying out my novel process, as disclosed in Figures 1 to 13,inclusive, a suitable arbor, generally indicated by the numeral 2 isprovided. This arbor may be slightly tapered, although not necessarily,and has a plurality of longitudinally extending ribs 3 on its periphery,as clearly illustrated in Figure 2. The arbor is supported in a suitabledevice (not shown). To form the torch tip, a tubular blank 4, of asuitable ductile material such, for example, as copper tubing, having abore 5 therein, is placed on the arbor 2, as shown in Figures 2 and 3.The blank is then swaged in the usual manner, whereby its diameter isreduced and its body elongated, as shown in Figure 4. The swagingoperation reduces the bore of the blank to conform to the periphery ofthe arbor 2, as shown in Figure 5, whereby a plurality of longitudinallyextending grooves are provided in said bore, when the arbor 2 is removedtherefrom.

In the next step, the blank 4 is removed from the arbor 2 and a tubularcore 6 is inserted through the grooved bore of the blank, as bestillustrated in Figure 8-. The core 6, before being inserted through thebore of the blank 4 may be slightly tapered, as shown in Figure 7, tocorrespond to the taper of the bore in the blank. This may beaccomplished by turning or swaging.

After the core has been inserted through the bore of the blank 4, asshown in Figure 8, wire elements 1 are inserted through the aperturesformed by the grooves 8, as shown in Figure 10. A relatively larger wire9 may be inserted through the bore of the core 6.

The blank 4 is then again swaged to further reduce its diameter andincrease its length. This swaging operation reduces the grooves 8 in thebore of the blank I and also the bore in the core 6, to the diameters ofthe wires I and 9, as clearly illustrated in Figures 9 and 10. The wireelements I and 9 are then removed, whereby'a plurality of apertures areprovided through thepartially completed torch tip, as will readily beunderstood.

In the torch tips of this general character, it is usually moredesirable to have the discharge ends of terminals thereof reduced indiameter or tapered, as shown in Figures 11 and 12. It to have theapertures H, which supply the fuel gas to the tip of the torch, reducedin size at the discharge end of the tip, as shown in Figure 12. This isaccomplished by inserting relatively smaller wires [3 into the aperturesII at the discharge end of the tip, as shown in Figure 11. A slightlylarger wire I is inserted into the central aperture l2, and the end ofthe partially completed tip is then swaged to reduce it to a taper, asshown in Figures 11 and 12. This final swaging operation elongates theend of the tip and reduces the diameters of the apertures l I and I2 tothe diameters of the wires 13 and Il. The wires l3 and 14 are thenremoved, after which the body of the torch tip is finished to completeit for attachment to a torch head.

The process herein disclosed is exceedingly simple and makes it possibleto construct the tip of stock sizes of copper tubing, and withoutrequiring any drilling. In other words, the blank 4 which forms theouter portion of the torch tip may be cut from standard tubing and isthen swaged, as hereinbefore stated, first on the arbor 2, and then onthe core 6, until the various swaging operations have been performed tocomplete the tip to the size and form shown in Figure 12. When thuscompleted the blank 4 forming the outer portion of the tip and the core6 will be so firmly united, because of the several swaging operations,that they become in effect, an integral unit. It will also be noted thatall of the apertures formed in the tip are accomplished withoutdrilling, whereby the cost of manufacture is greatly reduced.

In the accompanying drawing, I have shown the finished torch tipprovided with a tapered discharge end, whereby the discharge ends of thepassages formed by the wires i3 and i4 may be located relatively closerto the central orifice. as shown in Fig. 12. It is to be understood,however, that in some tips, it may be deemed more desirable to outwardlyspace the discharge ends of the passages H from the central orifice i2 agreater distance than shown in Figures 11 and 12, in which case thefinal operation of drawing the body of the torch tip down to a taper byswaging, may be dispensed with.

I claim as my invention:

1.- A process of forming a torch tip which consists in placing a tubularblank of ductile metal on a longitudinally ribbed arbor, swaging saidblank until its bore is reduced and shaped to conform to the peripheryof the arbor, then removing the arbor, whereby a plurality ofiongitudinal grooves are provided in the bore of the blank, inserting anunribbed core of ductile metal in the grooved bore of the blank, theninserting wire elements through the apertures formed by said grooves,and again swaging the blank to further reduce its diameter, and where-,

by said apertures are reduced to the diameter of said wires, and thenremoving the wires.

2. A process of forming a torch tip which consists in placing a tubularblank of ductile metal on a longitudinally ribbed arbor, swaging saidblank until its bore is reduced and shaped to conform to the peripheryof the arbor, removing the arbor whereby a plurality of longitudinalgrooves are provided in the bore of the blank, inserting an unribbedtubular core of ductile metal in the grooved bore of the blank, theninserting wire elements through the apertures formed by said grooves andalso through the bore of said core, again swaging the blank to furtherreduce its diameter and lengthen it and whereby said apertures arereduced to the diameter of said wires, and then removing the wires. 3. Aprocess of forming a torch tip which consists in placing a tubular blankof ductile metal on a longitudinally ribbed tapered arbor of nonductilemetal, swaging said blank until its bore is reduced and shaped toconform to the ribbed periphery of the arbor, removing the arbor,whereby a plurality of longitudinal grooves are provided in the bore ofthe blank, inserting an unribbed tapered core of ductile metal in thegroovedbore or the blank, whereby a plurality oi longitudinal aperturesare provided, then inserting wire elements through the apertures formedby said grooves, again swaging said blank to further reduce its diameterand lengthen it and whereby said apertures are reduced to the diameterof said wires, and then removing the wires.

4. A process of forming a torch tip which consists in placing a tubularblank of ductile metal on a longitudinally ribbed tapered arbor ofnonductile nietai, swaging said blank until its bore is reduced andshaped to conform to the ribbed periphery of the arbor, removing thearbor, whereby a plurality of longitudinal grooves are provided in thebore oi the blank, inserting an unribbedtapered core 01 ductile metalinto the grooved bore of the blank, whereby a plurality oi longitudinalapertures are provided, then inserting wire elements through theapertures formed by said grooves. again-swaging said blank to furtherreduce its diameter and lengthen it and whereby said apertures arereduced to the diameter oi. said wires, then removing said wires,

and finally partially inserting relatively smaller wires into theapertures thus formed, from one end of the partially completed tip, andswaging only said end to taper it and to reduce the size ofthe'apertures at said end of the tip to the diaminserting into thegrooved bore oi. the blank an unribbed tapered core of ductile metal,whereby a plurality of longitudinal apertures are provided, said corehaving an axial bore extending lengthwise therethrough, then insertingwire elements through the apertures formed by said grooves and arelatively larger wire through the bore insaid core, then swaging theblank to further reduce its diameter and lengthen it and whereby all ofsaid apertures are reduced to the diameters of said wires, and removingall 01 said wires.

ELMER H, SMITH.

